Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $23.30 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,249 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,256 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 260,577 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $137,212,000 after purchasing an additional 33,111 shares during the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $513,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 47.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 427,116 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,906,000 after purchasing an additional 137,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 2,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $535.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $488.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $546.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $523.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.